In hospitals, it is a difficult task for the health care worker to transfer the invalid patient from the wheelchair to a bed. In addition, it is often difficult to transfer such patient from the bed back to the wheelchair. In typical hospital operations, such tasks require the health care worker to bodily lift the patient from the sitting to standing position, and vice versa. This also requires the health care worker to uncomfortably twist so as to transfer the patient from one position to another position, such as from the wheelchair to the bed.
In the normal hospital environment, such operations require a relatively large or strong person to bodily lift the patient from one position to the other. This lifting can result in excess strain on the back of the health care worker aiding the patient to rise, especially since the helping person must bend forward into a position over the patient. Over the years, a large number of hospital-related injuries have occured from the strain and exertion caused by such tasks. When the person doing the lifting, such as a medical aid, therapists, nurse, etc., is small in size relative to the size of the patient, this problem is accentuated. Furthermore, the patient himself may have a strain placed on his or her body during these patient transfer operations.
There have been patents in the past that have attempted to address this problem. Two of these patents are U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,388, issued on Aug. 7, 1956, to E. Chisholm and U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,329, issued on July 6, 1976, to Whitton, Jr. et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,757,388 discloses a bedside transfer stand. This patented device is a turnstand that can be placed between a bed and a wheelchair. The patient may grasp the steadying rail, rise, stand, and be turned. After turning, the patient may sit down on a bed or a wheelchair. This device, however, is only appropriate for those patients that are able to stand on their own. It does not provide the proper knee restrain so as to allow the health care professional the proper leverage for pulling forward those patients that have insufficient strength to lift themselves.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,329 is an invalid lifting device which includes a portion that is fitted to the knee of the health care worker and another portion that serves to abut the knee of the invalid patient. This device provides the necessary knee restrain so as to allow the health care worker the proper leverage for pulling forward the invalid patient. Importantly, however, this does not offer turntable ability for the purpose of properly rotating the patient from a wheelchair to a bed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a patient transfer apparatus, which allows a relatively small person to lift a larger person without excess strain.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a patient transfer apparatus that allows the patient to be moved from a wheelchair to an adjacent bed by turntable or rotation.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a patient transfer apparatus to reduce the risk of injury to the health care professional during the transferring of invalid patients.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a patient transfer apparatus that is mechanically simple and inexpensively manufactured.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.